A Good Thing
by Another Duck
Summary: Two spells promise something good, but what will happen when wills collide? Originally based on the gym storage room scene with Tomoya and Kyou, but expanded a bit.
1. An Odd Outcome

A Good Thing

A Clannad fanfic.

Disclaimer: Clannad and all related characters have been borrowed and will be returned to the original creators only slightly used.

Summary: Two spells promises something good, but what will happen when wills collide?

Author's Notes:

I know some of these scenes in this fic are borrowed from the game or anime, but the purpose of that is to make the story fit better within the continuity people are more familiar with, rather than recreating everything. I will try to limit that, however, and make them a little more original.

/ Another Duck

* * *

An Odd Outcome

* * *

It was lunch break, and Tomoya and Sunohara just finished their drinks in the reference library, along with Yukine. The day before, they had, or at least Sunohara had, tried a spell to make a girl fall for him. It backfired.

Needless to say, he wasn't very lucky as far as spells went. Or rather, the spells might have actually worked, but he had problems getting to the point where he actually had finished chanting the words or performing the silly action usually required for Yukine's spells.

"Would you like to try a different spell today?"

"The last we tried, I ended up with a lot of pain, so no thanks."

Tomoya thought about that attempt. Considering it involved Sunohara dropping his pants in front of Kyou, the outcome was rather obvious. It took a few hours before he could walk straight again.

"What spell do you have for today?"

While Sunohara was understandably wary of trying something new, Tomoya was a little bored, so he figured it couldn't do any harm. He wasn't as stupid as his so-called friend, anyway.

"It's a rather simple spell. All you have to do is hold your fingers in the shape of a heart."

"Like this?" Tomoya demonstrated.

"Yes, exactly. Now, chant, 'To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped,' three times."

"To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped. To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped. To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped."

"Good! Now, if you walk around the school, the first girl who talks with you is someone who likes you."

"Someone who likes me? And all I have to do now is to walk around the school? That doesn't sound too hard."

While doubting it would actually work, Tomoya was simply too curious to not try it out. It was something as simple as walking, so why not?

He went out and headed towards the new school building. There were almost no students walking the corridors, and the few who were seemed aware of his status as a delinquent. The result was that he managed to go through the entire building, even passing his own classroom, without anyone saying even a word to him.

Not really wanting to feel depressed about it, he decided to just end it and make his way back to the reference room.

"Hey, Tomoya!"

"Okazaki?"

"What are you doing here?"

It was the Fujibayashi twins. Kyou had mentioned that Ryou liked him, so it made sense for him to meet her. But despite Kyou's question, he thought it more appropriate to ask them what they were doing, considering they never spent lunch close to here as far as he knew.

"I should ask you the same. You're not usually around here."

"Well, Ryou read my fortune, and it mentioned that something good would happen if we went here."

"You met me, so it did come true. After all, meeting such a great person can only be a good thing, right?"

Kyou laughed, mostly at him rather than with him. "You're a funny guy. Let's see if we're better off seeing you leave as well."

"Kyou, you're being mean to him."

"Ah, defending the delinquent, are we?"

She was usually nice to her sister, but sometimes her teasing was indiscriminate.

"Ah! I... I mean..." Ryou blushed and stammered on, not managing to say anything coherent.

"Heh, we'll be going now. Come on, Ryou."

Tomoya thought Kyou was up to something, but then, she usually was, so it's not as if it was something out of the ordinary. Regardless, he had met someone, and decided that definitely was enough for the spell. It was even a person he knew was interested in him from the beginning, so it's not as if he learned anything new.

"Did anyone speak with you?" asked Yukine when he sat down.

"Someone did, actually."

Sunohara jumped forward and grabber on to his shoulder. "Who, who?"

"I'm not telling you. This was my spell, not yours."

"I'm gonna try as well!" He formed a heart with his fingers exactly as Tomoya had done, then focused and closed his eyes. "To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped. To love, to be loved, dump, to be dumped. To love, to be loved, to dump, to be dumped."

A second later, he shot out of the door. Soon after, there was a crash, and a yelp. It was his voice, so it was likely no one actually said anything, especially as the distinct noise of someone running away in terror could be heard. Moments after, Fuko walked past the door, in the style of a zombie.

Tomoya looked at Yukine, who returned the look.

"I don't think she said anything. The spell says she has to speak with him."

"That's what I thought."

They didn't have to wait that long for Sunohara to return. When he did, he looked quite shocked.

"Sunohara, did something happen? Did someone speak with you?"

"Yes," he answered in a daze, "someone did."

"Who?"

"Nagisa."

"Nagisa?"

"Nagisa."

"That's just..." Tomoya looked at Yukine for help, who just shrugged, apparently as confused as he was. "I didn't think she liked you... There must've been some kind of mistake with the spell. Right?"

"It worked for you, didn't it?"

"Yes, but..."

There was no time to argue anymore, as the warning bell rang.

When the day ended, Sunohara went to find Nagisa, for a rather obvious reason. Tomoya just went home to clear his head. Something just seemed to have gone terribly wrong.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thus ends the first chapter of the story. While it might be interesting, I don't think I will expand on what Sunohara does. Neither him nor Nagisa are among my favourite characters, though I don't dislike them. If anyone wants to use that as a kick-off for their own fic, go ahead! I'll even offer to beta-read.

/ Another Duck


	2. A Two Faced Trap

A Good Thing

A Clannad fanfic.

Disclaimer: Clannad and all related characters have been borrowed and will be returned to the original creators only slightly used.

Author's Notes:

This is the chapter that started the fanfic. Originally, this was it, but then more plot wanted to happen.

/ Another Duck

* * *

A Two-Faced Trap

* * *

There was a distinct change in Sunohara's behaviour the following day. He was on time for class, and he seemed to pay attention to what the teacher said as well. What was up with him anyway? Tomoya didn't recognise the person he occasionally called friend. He even let him be for lunch, occupied with something else.

Not having anyone to bother him, Tomoya went over to see Yukine. Maybe she would have a fun spell to distract him with.

"Welcome! Do you want some coffee?"

"Yes, please. I really need something to be able to cope with Sunohara's change. He's a completely different person now! It's like he's not even a delinquent anymore. He's trying to date Nagisa now. After everything I said about them being a terrible couple, he just wouldn't listen."

"Maybe he changed for the better so he could be more worthy of Nagisa's affections?"

"I don't even know what to think of that. What if he does good in class? Then I have to start working too, or I'll be the lowest there. It's horrible!"

"I think it might be good for you. It's not a bad idea to pay attention in class. You spend the time there anyway, so why not try to learn something? It won't hurt."

"This hurts my brain. Do you have any spell to take my mind away from these ridiculous thoughts?"

"Hmm, let's see. How about one that will lock you and a girl into the gym storage room?"

"That sounds suspiciously specific. Is there really such a spell?"

"Mmhmm! You just have to balance two coins on each other and chant a phrase."

"Balance two coins, on the edge? That's impossible!"

"There's no harm in trying."

She was a kind girl, so he didn't glare at her. It didn't mean he thought he had a chance of succeeding, though. How could you balance two coins on their edges anyway? It truly was impossible.

* * *

Tomoya glared at the gym storage, daring it to hold him captive. It was hard to hold a staring contest with an inanimate object, but he'd already done one impossible thing that day, so somehow he managed to do this as well. On the other hand, he was fairly sure he wasn't winning. With his focus centred on the small building, he didn't notice anyone else around until he felt something touch his foot.

"Tomoya, grab that ball for me."

The voice shook him from his thoughts, leaving them unattended while he cast a glance at the speaker. Kyou stood a bit away from him, struggling to keep the many dodgeballs from falling out of her grasp.

"Are you ordering me, or asking nicely?"

There was no need to argue, but there was something about her that was always testing his limits, so he thought he'd return the favour.

"I'm..." she trailed off, a thoughtful light shimmered across her eyes. She smiled, and softened her tone a little. "If you help me, I'll make you lunch tomorrow." There was a definite something in between those lines, but Tomoya couldn't quite figure out what it was. However, her offer was a very decent one, so he didn't think refusing would be a good idea.

"I'll hold you to that."

She merely nodded at that, but was obviously pleased with it.

"So, what are you doing with these dodgeballs anyway?"

"Extra gym class. I love the thrill of the game. It's exciting when they fly at me."

"And here I thought you only enjoyed throwing things yourself, but maybe that only applies to square objects."

He expected her to at least glare at him for that remark, but she took it surprisingly straight.

"Well, I like that too, but people are afraid of doing anything against me otherwise, so it's a nice change of order. No one dares to challenge me unless it's a game." There was a faint change in the tone of her voice, almost melancholic.

"Doesn't Sunohara challenge you all the time?"

"He's an idiot, not a challenge. You're better at that. I'd like to meet you in dodgeball sometime. I know you can't throw well, but you've irked me a lot by dodging my dictionaries."

As they went towards the storage room, Tomoya wondered about her words. There were a lot of mixed emotions in them he couldn't figure out. Just as Tomoya stepped into the doorway, he stopped, remembering the spell. "No way. This can't be because of? It's just a coincidence, right?"

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing." It struck him that he'd actually managed to forget about it, despite it having been on his mind on and off for the last few hours.

"Then get over here. This is where the balls go, so don't just stand there."

"Ah, okay." No need to worry. It's just Kyou anyway.

The door out suddenly shut, and a click was heard. Both Kyou and Tomoya turned towards it, and when she tried to open it, she found it locked.

"Eh? It won't open. Well—"

"I'm sorry," he blurted out before he could think about how appropriate it was.

"—there's a... Wait, sorry? What do..." The lightbulb in her mind flickered briefly, but didn't quite stay lit. "Wait, did you..."

While it was rather dark, Tomoya could still make out the increasingly red colour of her cheeks. Wait, he thought, wasn't Kyou with her sister when they met me after the first spell? And didn't they both talked to me? She... she's... also interested? The fortune Fujibayashi made, it was for her sister, not herself. This all can't just be a coincidence, can it?

"What... what are you planning to do with me?" She was clearly frightened, and backed a few steps, but bumped her head against the rack behind her. "Ah! Oww..." With her momentum reversed she stumbled forward and then to the side while her head had yellow little birds flying around it. Just before she lost her balance, Tomoya caught her in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked, holding her as her knees struggled to stay straight. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I should never have tried that stupid spell in the first place."

"Eh? ...What?" She came to life, the cobwebs in her mind temporarily blinked away as she still leaned against his arm, but she was vaguely aware that her consciousness wasn't at its peak after the blow to her head. "What do you mean, spell?"

"It's a spell to lock you into the gym storage room with someone."

"That's ridiculous! How can there be such a specific spell?"

"I didn't believe it either, I just—"

"And why did you pick me anyway?"

"You know, be careful what you wish for."

"Eh..." Her mind took yet another turn of the page as her appearance calmed down significantly and settled somewhere between confusion and curiosity, probably close to contemplation. "Ah, you picked me just in case it would actually work?"

"Yeah."

"So, um, you thought it would be okay to be locked up here with me?"

Her eyes closed, and from the short distance it was easy for him to see that her blush came back. The mood changed considerably, towards something he wasn't entirely comfortable with. It didn't happen often, but when Kyou was nervous and not angry, she stuttered.

"Um, d-do you... how long d-do you think... the spell... will keep us here?"

"I don't know. I didn't find out much about it."

"The sun's s-setting..."

"Yeah."

"So it's going to... get dark in here..."

I'm not sure I like where this is leading.

"There's no one left in the school now..."

"I guess..."

"You wanted me... here?"

"Well, we've known each other for a while, and we're comfortable around each other, so I thought..."

"But, but, what about Ryou? I c-can't..."

"It'd be so awkward with her." Just as he said that, he was reminded of how awkward the current situation actually was. Maybe she wouldn't have freaked out as her normally calmer elder sister did at the moment.

"I'd betray her..."

"There's nothing to betray. What are you—"

"Then you mean..." Her eyes started to lose focus, but she was far too preoccupied to noticed that.

Tomoya, on the other hand, did. "Hey, lie down. It's probably better for you."

Her heart jumped up, hindering her breath and rendering her speech erratic. "We... lie? You serious?"

"I'm serious."

"I want..." By this time, her heart was pushing through her throat, making it difficult for her to speak at all. The close proximity of the two didn't help either, which she suddenly was keenly aware of. She tried to swallow, but only managed to make a funny sound. "...too. I'm okay... with you... Do what... you want." Overwhelmed with the situation as well as the pain swelling up at the back of her head, her eyes flickered for a bit, and Tomoya had to struggle briefly to keep her from falling as consciousness failed her.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of you."

There were a few mattresses on the floor next to them, so he placed her gently on them. Her breathing had gone from practically non-existent — was that why she passed out? — to being slow and deep, much like she was sleeping. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, so he thought she'd just wake up eventually. He sighed in relief, both due to thinking she was safe, and because he realised this would give him a safe opportunity to perform the rather embarrassing counter spell.

After dropping his pants and chanting the words three times, he glanced at the door. Nothing seemed to happen. He pulled his trousers up again and went over to check if it was still locked. It was, but as he pulled at the door, he saw something lying on the horizontal support for the wall right next to the door. Inspecting it, he saw that it was a key. It was old and rusty, but then, so was the lock in the door. He picked it up and pushed it into the lock. It clicked when he turned it around. Luckily, it seemed that this door could be locked from either side.

That's when he realised that they were never really locked in in the first place, and they could've escaped any time they wanted to. Also, someone coming as frequently to this place as Kyou should've known that. Did she forget about it? Or did she just think the key was gone?

He went back to her sleeping form. Or at least he liked to think of her as sleeping, rather than being unconscious. It sounded nicer. And healthier. He'd known her for a year or two now, so he hadn't missed the fact that she was a pretty girl, but when he saw her normally, she was always sporting some kind of mask. Or maybe not always, as he'd seen her genuinely happy, or even worried, but compared to now... Now she looked innocent and vulnerable. That wasn't anything he'd seen before. He had thought to try to wake her up by splashing some water in her face, if he could find any, or at least shake her awake, but seeing her like this, he just didn't want to disturb her.

Regardless of his inaction, she stirred, and opened her eyes. "Where... where am I?" She sat up and looked around the dark and dusty room.

"We're in the gym storage room, locked in."

"What?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "Isn't the key nearby?"

"You knew about that?"

"Yes, why do you—" she stopped herself, remembering what had happened. As she pieced the events together, her face heated up once more, but this time she tried to look like nothing was wrong. "Eh, heh, heh." She scratched the back of her head, feeling the small bump there. "It seems that I, ah, forgot about that little detail. Sorry about that." A nervous grin was spread across her face.

He sighed, not quite sure what was going on in her mind. She'd never been easy to pin down, even if he had some success in talking her down on occasion. "Is your head okay? It looked like you took a nasty hit there." It was quite possible it was the spell that made her forget about it, when she should've seen the key when she checked the door the first time.

"I'm fine. I just feel like a klutz, that's all. I'm glad you're the only one who saw me like that, truth to be told."

"You're not afraid I did something inappropriate while you were unconscious?"

"I have my clothes on, and the only place I feel any pain is my head. No, you didn't do anything I wouldn't want you to."

Tomoya thought it was a little strange. She wasn't threatening him as she usually would, and she seemed serious.

"I've had enough excitement for today. Let's head home now." She rose up and walked over to the door. "Huh? The key's in the door. Did..." Her face paled as she cast a shocked look at him, right before she blushed for the umpteenth time that hour. "You knew when you told me we were locked in. You probably think that I didn't actually forget about it, and just said so to make us seem trapped, but you see, that's where you're wrong. The truth is that, well... ah..."

"It was probably the spell that made you forget about it. It seems silly, but every spell Yukine has told me about has worked." He didn't want to tell her about the last one Sunohara did.

"Um, sure, that's probably it, yeah. I should probably... go and change now. Bye, see you tomorrow!"

That said, she made a hasty retreat. Tomoya wondered for a while whether or not to wait for her to clear up a few things, but eventually decided to let things be for the moment. It wasn't anything he wanted to push, nor was he really sure what he wanted the outcome to be.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thus ends the second chapter of the story. I have no idea how fun it is to read this, but I had a blast writing it. Having seen that scene both in the anime and in the game, I must say that Kyou's personality jumps around all over the place, so it's hard to pin down. I hope I did her justice. The whole scene was hard to write, actually, as I didn't want it to be the same as the version we've seen before, and the double meanings are hard to get down without it being too convoluted.

/ Another Duck


	3. A Lacking Lunch

A Good Thing

A Clannad fanfic.

Disclaimer: Clannad and all related characters have been borrowed and will be returned to the original creators only slightly used.

Author's Notes:

I had to rethink this chapter a bit, which is why it's so short. The main perspective changes as the story simply works much better that way. I hope it's not too distracting.

/ Another Duck

* * *

A Lacking Lunch

* * *

The next day progressed as usual, up until lunch. Kyou did make good of her promise, and Tomoya was presented with a delicious looking meal. They were sitting on a patch of grass in the school yard. There were a lot of other students surrounding them, as the sun was shining brightly, yet it wasn't too hot either.

"You made all this on your own?"

"Ryou helped too."

"Kyou did most of it. I just made some of the rice balls, and the fried pork."

Tomoya studied the food. It was frankly quite easy to guess who had done what. A few of the rice balls weren't as well formed as the others, and the pork was, well, a tad on the dark side. He still felt a little guilty at the look the chef gave him, so he picked one of them out and put it into his mouth.

He was certain fried pork wasn't supposed to be that dry and crunchy. The base meat was likely of good quality, though, so it wasn't awful. However, the way Ryou winced when she heard him chew was enough to decide not to try any more of her food. Besides, wasn't it more polite to try all the various pieces of food? That's what he told himself, anyway.

"Did you hear about Sunohara?" asked Kyou. "He actually started to date Nagisa. Can you believe it?"

"I'd rather not think about that, thank you very much."

"I mean, who'd ever have thought of that? I'd have thought you'd get a girlfriend before he did."

"If you keep talking about that, I'll make sure you know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of one of your dictionaries."

Kyou's smile didn't falter one bit, but she didn't say anything else about the subject.

While eating, they didn't really talk about anything important. It suited him just fine, despite Kyou's attempts at steering the conversation towards what type of girls Tomoya liked. That was not something he wanted to answer, or at least not at this point.

"Kyou," Ryou began, "didn't you have something to do? That class representative thing?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that. Thanks, Ryou! Catch you later!"

Right before leaving, she shot a warning glance at Tomoya, as if telling him what she would do if he hurt her sister. It worried him slightly, not because he ever intended to hurt her, but Ryou was one of those people who were easily hurt. Or at least as far as Kyou was concerned, and that's what counted.

* * *

Kyou left the two, not for any class representative meeting or anything, but to simply give her sister some time alone with Tomoya. She had that figured out back when she first promised him she'd make him lunch. She was a little surprised that her sister had reminded her about it, both because she wasn't one to so readily suggest such a thing, but also because she had sincerely forgot about it. She had just enjoyed chatting with the two of them so much that time slipped her by.

She wasn't a person to leave her sister alone, though. No, Kyou stayed out of their sight, but held them within her own. They were talking about something serious, that much was clear. She couldn't be sure of what, as they kept their voices down, and their body language was a little too unspecific.

However, she calmed down when she saw Ryou smile, even after her face had gone a shade darker than what looked healthy. After that, both of them relaxed, so everything seemed to work perfectly. There was just that little pin that seemed lodged into her heart. But for the sake of her sister, she could ignore it. It would go away eventually.

The warning bell rang, and she hurried away so she wouldn't be caught.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thus ends the third chapter of the story. Short, and little actual story. I still think it needs to be there, if only for the transition. The next chapter will be far longer.

/ Another Duck


	4. A Mistake Medley

A Good Thing

A Clannad fanfic.

Disclaimer: Clannad and all related characters have been borrowed and will be returned to the original creators only slightly used.

Author's Notes:

This is the longest chapter. Personally I don't mind reading 20-50+ page chapters, but I know some people prefer shorter ones. This one should still be acceptable for almost anyone, though, as it's about six pages long.

/ Another Duck

* * *

A Mistake Medley

* * *

A few days passed, most of them with the twins and Tomoya eating lunch together in the school yard. Kyou was quite pleased that her sister's cooking had improved, so now it was actually tasty, even if it was a little bland, though she'd never tell her that.

She suspected Tomoya and Ryou were dating, or at least sort of going out. Asking about it was always an option, but they seemed to be doing rather well together without her help. They were friendly with each other, and Ryou wasn't as awkward as the elder sister had known her to be around boys, in particular with someone she had a crush on. Kyou didn't want to bring anything up that might disturb that.

The weekend was coming up, and Ryou had mentioned she wanted to buy a new dress. She wanted Kyou to join her, who had naturally suggested they invite Tomoya as well. It may or may not have been an actual date, but Kyou tried to think about how to turn it into that.

The first thing she made sure of was that Ryou was wearing a pretty dress, while she showed up in rather casual clothes herself, that could easily pass for what one would wear while jogging. Actually, that was exactly what she used that outfit for on normal days when it wasn't too hot to run in long pants and a sweater. It was cloudy and windy that weekend, so it wasn't too hot for it now either, unlike the last week.

Other than that, she tried to think of ways she could make the other two get some alone-time together. It would be rude to just up and leave, but she didn't think she'd have to go that far. Still, if necessary she would. All for her sister.

At the time they were to meet, Ryou and Tomoya were already there. Kyou had told her sister to be fashionably late, but the sweet sister had apparently refused. The less sweet sister decided that even if she was in the area spying on them, she would show up a little later than what would be fashionable. It served both the purpose of giving the two some time alone, as well as making Tomoya annoyed with her.

When she actually showed up, she found that he didn't seem annoyed at all. Did he have such a good time with Ryou that he really didn't mind waiting? She smiled at the prospect, despite the pin having grown to the size of a nail. Well, it would make her plans easier.

On the way to the clothing store, they passed a jewellery boutique. Kyou thought of something.

"Oh, let's go in here! I wanna see if there's something pretty I want."

"Eh, I think I'll pass."

Tomoya was a little less enthusiastic about it. Looking at rocks and metals twisted into funny shapes wasn't his idea of a great time.

"Oh, come on, we didn't bring a guy around to not give his opinion about things like these."

Surprisingly, that came from Ryou. Her sister had it difficult placing her with her strangely different personality, but as long as she agreed with her own plan, it was probably for the best.

"Yes, come on, Tomoya! We need a masculine opinion about this."

It really wasn't his idea of a great time. Mostly the girls just seemed to point at fancy looking accessories, and once in a while holding it up to show him and ask if he liked it or not. Sure, most of it was actually pretty, but not really interesting. He also heard Ryou explaining the meaning behind the stones to Kyou. It was a subject not too far off from reading fortunes, after all.

"Tomoya, this is my favourite. Don't you think it's beautiful?" She was holding a silver pendant with an amethyst at its centre. Not even waiting for an answer, Kyou turned her attention to her sister. "Ryou, which is your favourite?"

"Um, this one with the tanzanite. I like the colour of it."

As she said that, Kyou cast Tomoya a meaningful look while tapping her head and pointing towards the pendant Ryou was holding. She hoped he would catch her meaning and remember what Ryou liked. He nodded, so she believed he was on the same track. At least he had some common sense.

Next up was the shop Ryou had originally wanted to go to. Before Kyou could even realise what was happening, Ryou had picked out the outfit she wanted and paid for it. Neither of the other two had actually time to see what it was.

At that time, Kyou spotted the swimsuit section, and a bold idea sprang forward in her mind. She was fairly sure Ryou would be against it, but with a little coaxing, maybe she'd go for it. After all, she was a little less shy these days. Maybe her confidence was up for it now?

"Hey, Ryou, do you think we need to buy new swimsuits for the summer?"

The shorter haired sister blinked, trying to think of a good response. She didn't get to say anything before Kyou continued, though.

"Try this one out; I think it'll be cute on you."

That got a reaction out of her. "Ah, no! I can't wear that. I-I don't need it. It's so... it would look much better on you, Kyou."

"We can buy a matching pair, then, but let's try it out! Come now!"

Without really accepting anything but agreement, she pulled her sister towards the fitting rooms and practically threw her into one of them.

"It'll be okay if both of us change, right?"

It didn't take long for Kyou to change into the two-piece swimsuit, and once she was done she turned to look into the room she had pushed Ryou into. However, there was no one there.

"Tomoya, did you see where she went?"

The moment she saw where he was looking, she realised how badly her plan had gone. She had wanted him to see what Ryou would look like so he'd fall deeper in love with her. They did look alike, and she knew they were among the best looking students in their school.

At the moment, Tomoya was trying not to stare at Kyou, even as she could tell he really wanted to. Not that she could blame him either, as the bikini she was wearing wasn't what one would call modest. It was violet, and held together with strings tied at her hips and back.

She heard him say something, but couldn't really make it out as blood was rushing up her ears, colouring her face in a way she'd really hoped to avoid. It took her less than a second to retreat back into the fitting room to change back.

This was not going the way she had planned. Now Tomoya was probably thinking about only her, and not Ryou. She tried not to look too disappointed as she exited the store and find Ryou hiding behind a corner.

"I'm sorry, Kyou, I just couldn't go through with wearing that."

Kyou wanted to tell her sister she had missed an excellent opportunity to score some serious points with Tomoya, but thought better of it. She was still interested in him, wasn't she? Well, otherwise she wouldn't have such a problem letting him see her in a swimsuit. A friend was easier than someone you tried to impress, after all.

"It's okay. We'll just... I'm a bit hungry, so can we grab a bite to eat?"

If she had been a little older, she'd had tried to drown her sorrows a bit, but she wasn't really depressed. Just a slight bit down from her failure. Her temporary failure, she reminded herself. There would be other chances.

The food came and was eaten. Tomoya and Ryou chatted happily meanwhile, and it made Kyou feel a little left out as she still mulled over the previous event. But wasn't that the point? To get the two of them closer together? Why wasn't she feeling happy about it?

The dessert came in and was placed in front of her, but she wasn't feeling all that eager to eat any of it, despite having ordered it herself. Noticing this, Ryou rose up to ask her if she was all right, pulling Tomoya with her, but as soon as their arms left the table, it toppled towards Kyou, as she was the only one still leaning on it. Three dishes of ice cream and two sodas washed over the hapless girl. Tomoya managed to save his glass.

"Kyou! Are you okay?"

Sitting back up in her chair, she checked herself. She did get hit a little, but it wasn't anything close to the first thing on her mind. Rather, the soaked hoodie and splattered sweat pants took up her entire priority list at the moment. She was wearing a T-shirt underneath, so removing her top part of her outfit shouldn't have been any problem.

"Sis! You can't show yourself like that!"

It took the unfortunate one a moment to realise just how thoroughly she had been soaked. And the T-shirt was white. And again, Tomoya was staring. She quickly pressed the back of the hoodie at her chest as well as her face to cover as much of herself up.

"Come on, let's get you changed into something clean."

"I don't have any spare clothes."

"You can just borrow what I just bought."

It wasn't often the younger sister took care of the elder, but this was one such occasion. Normally this was something Kyou would be proud of her sister for, but currently, she was just feeling depressed. She was fairly certain she had ruined the day for both of them, or maybe she was just feeling sorry for herself. She couldn't tell at the moment.

The negatives didn't stop there either. No, the outfit Ryou so conveniently had bought before was not her usual style. The skirt wasn't longer than their school uniform, but that didn't bother Kyou so much. The midriff-baring top, on the other hand, was more of a problem. There was no way Ryou would wear this. Why did she buy it anyway?

"I thought you said it was a dress you wanted to buy. This," Kyou pointed at what she was wearing, "is not a dress."

"Eh, heh, heh."

She didn't get an answer other than that nervous laughter. It wasn't often she was annoyed by her sister, but this stretched it further than usual.

"Meh, let's go."

Tomoya was smiling rather broadly when they came back, and Kyou got the distinct feeling that he wasn't as surprised at her new clothes as he should've been.

"Welcome back, Fujibayashi sisters!"

"You're awfully happy about the way I've ruined the day."

He blinked. "Ruined? Nah, this is probably the funniest day this year. It probably wouldn't have been funnier if I so had thrown a pie in your face myself." He glanced skywards for a moment, tapping his chin with a finger. "Actually, that might've actually been funnier."

"Do you want me to extirpate your intestines?"

Despite her threat, her mood was changing for the better. They still seemed to enjoy their day, so hope wasn't lost. And even if she was the butt of the joke, she did find a small amount of pleasure in having made Tomoya that happy. Not that she'd ever say that out loud.

"Extirpate? Is that even a word?"

"Sure it is, just look here." She pointed on the page and started to read what the dictionary said out loud. "Extirpate: To remove; to destroy totally; exterminate; to remove by surgery."

"Huh. Would you look at that. Well, it's nice to see that you're back to your old self, Kyou. You seemed a little down there for a while."

He was nice to her. Damn him, he shouldn't be. It was only making her heart ache a little bit more than it already did. It wasn't helping her resolve to aid her sister one bit. Now that she thought of it, her sister didn't help her resolve one bit herself either. Was everyone working against her?

She smiled innocently the way she usually did when she promised great harm to someone. It had the appropriate effect. Tomoya backed down a little, and gave her some breathing space.

The trio spent more time looking in shops, mostly for the girls, but once in a while they seemed to remember that they weren't alone, and gave him some things to try out. From his point of view, they had bought a truckload of various things in many, many differently coloured bags. He didn't know how many there were, but he stopped counting after twenty one. And he strongly suspected there could be only one person who had to carry it all, or most, as he didn't actually have the number of hands required to hold that much at once. Which is what he was doing when they walked between stores.

He had just went into a fitting room to change back from a shirt he had no idea how the girls could find even acceptable when Ryou's cellphone went off.

"What? C-can you repeat that?"

The elder sister watched curiously as she could only hear one end of the conversation. Some people had the volume up so high anyone close enough could hear both sides, but someone as unassuming as Ryou wasn't one of them. She switched the phone off and put it in her purse.

"I... I have to go. A classmate called, and... I need to leave. I'm sorry."

Kyou didn't get much of a chance to do anything about it, as she was very soon alone with Tomoya. Alone with Tomoya and a mountain of bags. She couldn't possibly carry all this by herself. She doubted he could either, no matter how much she pushed him.

She stood there with a purple question mark on her face when he walked out wearing his regular clothes.

"Where'd Ryou go?"

"I don't know. There seemed to be an emergency with one of her classmates."

"Oh."

"I think we're done for the day."

There was no use for Kyou to spend more time with him if she couldn't push him and Ryou together. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but it would be counter-productive.

"Can you carry yours and Fujibayashi's stuff by yourself?"

"...No."

She was reluctant to admit that, but the only option was to leave everything where they were, and that wasn't something she wanted to consider.

"Could you help me carry this home?"

"I don't mind."

Kyou didn't like the silence between them. It was just too oppressing, so she had to say something.

"You didn't like that last shirt?"

"It was yellow. What was there to like about it?"

"Is there something wrong with yellow?"

"It was _bright_ yellow. Could you really see me wearing that anywhere outside a masquerade?"

"Hmm. I didn't think it was that bad. You'd look good in something loud once in a while." She put a finger to her lips, thinking about some of the other items they tried. "So, what was wrong with that pink top I tried on, then? Ryou tried a similar one, and you didn't see anything wrong with that."

"It was way too sweet for you."

"What? Are you saying I'm not a sweet girl?"

She wasn't really offended by that. A little startled, perhaps, but not angry. After all, they did tease each other all the time anyway, and she did like to argue.

"No, you're more, should I say, sour?"

That, on the other hand, was pushing it, and something had to be done about it. She wasn't in a good mood from the start, and she really didn't want to continue lobbing insults back and forth. On a normal day, she'd find it amusing, but now it was just grating on her nerves.

"I wonder if I can learn how to juggle with your kidneys."

"Or maybe just bitter is a more appropriate taste to describe you."

Now she was actually determined to give him a piece of her mind. Her patience had ended a while ago, but she was too riled up to think about when that happened.

"I'm bitter? I taste _bitter_?"

"Very."

Was that a challenging smile on his lips?

"I'll show you bitter!"

It took her a while to realise what she had actually done. Once she did, she slowly turned away from him, lowered her head, and started walking home. She wasn't sure if he was following or not, but she had to keep on walking, as she didn't think she could stand looking at him. The taste left on her lips was far from bitter, but the emotions left behind were.

How could she have screwed up for her sister so much? She was supposed to keep his feelings away from herself, and push them towards Ryou. The entire day had been a collection of disasters, a complete disappointment.

She was vaguely aware of throwing herself on her bed. Apparently, she had made her way home. She wasn't even sure of if she had closed the door or not, but it wasn't something she felt necessary to check up on right now.

There was supposed to be school the day after, but she really felt like skipping. Everything was just wrong and horrible at the moment, so sleeping it away seemed like a good idea.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thus ends the fourth chapter of the story. It's fun screwing with Kyou. She has such a nice range of emotions to draw from, as well as the mental strength to cope with it. That makes her one of my favourite characters, along with Tomoyo.

/ Another Duck


	5. A Rainy Rapture

A Good Thing

A Clannad fanfic.

Disclaimer: Clannad and all related characters have been borrowed and will be returned to the original creators only slightly used.

Author's Notes:

This is the final chapter. I could add one more chapter, but that would only be parts I cut out of the third chapter, before I decided to switch view to Kyou. I don't think it's all that interesting, though it explains a bit.

/ Another Duck

* * *

A Rainy Rapture

* * *

Kyou ended up going to school anyway. She wasn't even late, although she didn't make any lunch, so she'd have to buy something in the cafeteria.

The first few hours past by in a daze. The teacher asked her a question, but she didn't even have the focus to feel embarrassed about not hearing it the first time.

Before lunch break, she got an errand to run for her class. It was quickly completed, and she had a few minutes before class ended. Instead of returning, she headed off to buy some bread to eat, before everyone else came.

It was one of the benefits of being a class representative, as she occasionally got the chance to leave classes early in the name of being a good student. How ironic that sounded, she mused.

Munching on a beef cutlet sandwich, she walked towards where she usually ate lunch, out of habit. Looking to the usual spot they chose, she saw something that made her freeze. By all accounts, she should've been happy. After all, it meant the previous day hadn't hurt her goal at all.

She saw Ryou kissing Tomoya.

The object lodged in Kyou's heart grew to the size of a knife, stabbing her deeply. The pain she felt was unbelievable, far more than she could ever have imagined. She had to get away. Far away.

* * *

By now, she had perfected getting somewhere without being sure of exactly what she was doing. It may have been hours, or maybe only minutes. All she knew was that she ended up on a field somewhere.

A memory struck her. It was of a very small piglet crying among the roots of a nearby tree. This was the place where she first met Botan. As if to emphasise the crying she had to be doing herself, the skies opened up and let lose so much water she was soaked through in seconds.

She didn't care. Maybe it could wash away her sorrows better than her tears could.

"Puhi! Puhi!"

Amongst the spatter of drops, she could hear a familiar sound. A faint smile briefly appeared on her lips when she saw her little pet, but it faded as soon as she saw at whose feet Botan was standing.

"Kyou."

"Did you know this is where I first met Botan? His family abandoned him, so he was all alone. I've taken care of him since that, but he's always enjoyed coming back here, where his home is."

While she didn't really expect it to distract him from what she didn't want him to say, she had to try something. At least it distracted herself for a few seconds.

"I don't think that's right."

She looked him in the eyes for the first time that day. Not that she really felt it was a good idea, but the question just wouldn't come out of her mouth.

"His home is with you."

She was miserable, but somehow, he still made her smile. However, this was heading in the wrong direction. She wasn't sure how much more of it she could take without cracking completely.

"Could you not be so nice to me?"

"Why?"

"It... hurts, okay? I like you, and I long to be close to you, but I promised my sister to help her with you, so I can't be with you. I know you've already realised that's what I've been doing with the lunches. If you keep reminding me what I really feel, I'm not sure if I can handle it much longer, and I don't want to betray her."

"You're really selfless, you know that? You're a good person."

She moaned pitifully at that, and turned away so she wouldn't have to look at him. "You're not helping. It would be much better if you just saw me as a violent, overprotective, pig-toting maniac. Then I wouldn't have to worry so much. Just... go away."

A warmth enveloped her. Even through her soaked uniform, the heat from his arm and his torso relaxed her. It was so right, yet so wrong. She knew she should get away from him, get away from his embrace, but she couldn't muster the strength to do so.

"You shouldn't have let me feel what this feels like. Now I don't know if I can forget about it. It's going to feel empty."

"Why do you have to?"

"Because I'll hurt Ryou's feelings if I don't."

"You'll hurt her if you deny your own feelings. Do you really think everything that happened yesterday were accidents?"

Wait, what? Kyou's mind went into a full stop and started backing. The events of that day went past.

Ryou asking her to tag along shopping, knowing she'd invite Tomoya as well. Ryou leaving her alone in a bikini with Tomoya. Ryou rising from the table so it would tip over her. Ryou offering to lend her clothes that she'd never use herself. Ryou leaving her alone with Tomoya, forcing the two to walk home together.

Who was replaced her sister with a plotting mastermind? How had she missed out on all of this? Her own sister had gone completely past her radar and into the strike zone.

"You're the one I want, not your sister."

A small, black box appeared in front of her. As if spellbound, she raised her hands to take it from him. Opening it, she saw a familiar silver necklace adorned with an amethyst pendant. When did he have time to buy that anyway?

Only following her instincts, she turned around and kissed him as deeply as she could muster. She wanted more, but decided to let it be for now. Instead, she gave him a mischievous smile.

"See? Not bitter."

"Yeah, you already demonstrated that, remember?"

"Eh, heh." Her smile turned a little embarrassed as her cheeks reddened.

"Does spicy sound better? Like your food."

She turned her head to rest if against his chest, listening to his breathing.

"I like spicy." Something entered her mind: the reason she ran away to begin with. "But, but... didn't she kiss you at lunch?"

"What? Oh, that. I thought I saw you then. No, she wasn't kissing me. She just whispered something to me."

"What did she whisper?"

"Now that is a secret."

"I'm going to overlook that for now, and leave your kidney alone. So, how long have you known I liked you anyway?"

"Do you remember back when Ryou read your fortune, and you ended up in the old school building? What was the exact fortune she read?"

"Um, I believe it was, 'If you wait at the northern stairwell in the old school building, something good will happen to you.'"

"Is this something good?"

She smiled widely.

"This is something good."

"That's when I got the first real hint. It was the first of the two spells Yukine showed me. The second hint was during the duration of the second spell, in the gym storage room. Your feelings weren't exactly subtle then, and you did want to stay locked in there for a while as well."

"So you did figure that part out... I hoped you'd have thought it really was the spell that made me forget about the key."

"Is that so? But then if I didn't, maybe this would not have happened."

"Mm. No, not really, but it's not nice to force a girl to admit something like that. Were you in on Ryou's plan?"

"No. She's a little worried you won't forgive her about it, though."

She rested against him for a while, thinking about how to answer that. It was her twin sister, and the connection the two had was unconditional.

"Let me clarify. Do you want to date me?"

"Yes."

"I think I can find it in my heart to forgive her. Maybe after a prank or two. But right now, I don't need to know what she was thinking. She's still my sister, and things worked out. If she did all this for me, I don't think I'd do her any favours by rejecting it."

They stood there, embracing each other for a while, no one wanting to break the silence. That is, until reality made an appearance.

"Um, Kyou?"

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind, could we go somewhere else? It's so cold in the rain."

She just kissed him instead of saying anything.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thus ends the story. I had a great time writing it, and that's the reason why I write things in the first place.

Originally, it was just the storage room scene, but then plot appeared which demanded to be written. It was the same plot that demanded that I write it from Kyou's perspective, as when I wrote a few pages with Tomoya's perspective, the story lost its momentum. Thus I changed it, but the first part was still better like it was.

I also had a few scenes with Kappei, but those didn't work out well with the flow of the story, nor were they particularly interesting on their own. Botan is also a little shy, but he was still there on a corner.

/ Another Duck


	6. Extra Chapter: A Longer Lunch

A Good Thing

A Clannad fanfic.

Disclaimer: Clannad and all related characters have been borrowed and will be returned to the original creators only slightly used.

Author's Notes:

This is an extra chapter that was originally the continuation of the lunch Ryou and Tomoya had in chapter 3. It didn't fit, so I removed it, but here it is anyway.

/ Another Duck

* * *

Extra chapter: A Longer Lunch

* * *

Ryou and Tomoya sat in silence for a while. Both had pressing things on their minds, but no one was willing to take the first step. Which could only mean one thing was about to happen.

"Fujibayashi—" "Okazaki—"

"You first."

"No, you go ahead, Fujibayashi. What you have to say is probably more important."

It wasn't exactly what he thought, but it did give him some time to consider what to say to her. He'd figured out that they both liked him, but when it came to do something about it, he was at a loss.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think this is a good idea."

What? That wasn't what he had expected. Apparently, she noticed his confusion.

"I don't mean to say you're bad company, or that you're a bad person. It's just that..."

"Just that?" There wasn't much he could think of at the moment, so he just tried to nudge her along.

"Do you know why Kyou asked you here? I mean, the reason behind it all?"

She had obviously used the favour for yesterday as a pretext for something else. He also knew she had been trying to set him up with Ryou.

"I have an idea, yes."

"I just feel guilty about it. I'm not as innocent as you think I am. I... I knew Kyou liked you when I asked her to help me get closer to you."

On one hand, that was not close to how Tomoya perceived her. On the other hand, he was actually a little glad that she wasn't such a pushover as she seemed to be.

"But now I think..." Her voice suddenly gained strength, which made her sound a lot more like her sister, only gentler. "I think I want to return that favour. Do you like her?"

"I... I don't dislike her, and she's a good friend, even if she's violent."

That was as far as he could think at the moment. He'd only recently realised she liked him that way at all, and hadn't manage to adapt to it quite yet. But it wasn't an entirely unpleasant scenario. Sure, she was violent, had a temper, and was overall rather frightening at times, but on the other hand, she was one of the few students who were comfortable speaking with a delinquent such as himself. She was definitely one of the most attractive girls in school, and she cheerfully ganged up with him against Sunohara. And she was a great cook. But did he like her that way? He'd never thought of it.

"Would you consider going out with her?"

When Ryou got her act together, she was even more direct than her sister. Enough so to stun Tomoya for several seconds.

"I apologise, that was too forward of me. You have someone else you like?"

"No, it's not that. I just don't know what I think about this yet. But what's up with you? I've never seen you this bold before."

She blushed visibly at that, and almost reverted back to her regular, stuttering self. Taking a breath to calm herself, she prepared to explain herself.

"I found someone else who gives me strength. It's like I've found my own path. I used to worry about being inferior to my sister all the time, so I always wanted to be more like her. Now, I've moved on, and I feel more relaxed. I know that even if I'm not like her, I can be successful in my own right."

He found it captivating to listen to her. It was almost as if he felt a little jealous of whoever it was had stolen her attention from him. Of course, it also made the whole situation with Kyou a lot easier. One less person who could get hurt. Something about that struck his mind, though.

"You've not actually told your sister about this, have you?"

You didn't have to be a mind reader to confirm that the question was making her uncomfortable. "N-no. I'm afraid she might be hurt by my selfishness. She'll think I only liked you because she did."

"But wasn't that what you did?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. I do like you, and—" Her words got caught in her throat as she realised what she had just admitted out loud. In an instant, her face made a good impression of a tomato. "Sorry, I have someone else now, I really do, but..."

"But you only like me as a friend?"

Some of the scarlet left her face as she smiled, comforted by his words.

"Yes, that's exactly it. Even if people think you're a delinquent, you're kind. I've seen you help people when there was nothing in it for you."

"So, um, what are you going to do about Kyou?"

"I don't know. I want to help her, but if you're not sure about being with her, I don't want to force you into something you don't want." She looked thoughtful for a few seconds, then her eyes lit up. "Oh! I know! If we become real friends, and hang out more, you'll get to know her better, right? I mean, outside school as well. If it's okay with you, I mean."

He didn't have to consider that any longer than it took him to take a breath. Ryou was trying her best to do what Kyou had tried before, but at the same time, she was open about it, and still left a way out in case it wouldn't work. There wasn't really anything to lose.

"It's okay with me."

The short time that was left of the lunch break went on from there, and Tomoya found that Ryou really was much easier to talk with now that she wasn't interested in him. She was still shy and uncertain, but when she didn't worry so much about whether or not he liked her, she acted much like she did with her other friends.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Thus ends the extra chapter. There wasn't much happening, but it explains a little of the story. As you can see, that would've spoiled a large part of the rest of the story.

/ Another Duck


End file.
